Oliver Stone's 'W.' is fair and balanced treatment of Bush

Commentators who call themselves conservative like to call auteur director Oliver Stone "liberal." While few people on that side of the political spectrum would agree, conservatives still must have met with dismay the idea of Stone making a biopic on the sitting President, George W. Bush. The result is surprising. Those who fear that "W." will elevate the unpopular Bush need not worry. The same can be said of those who fear a Michael Moore-style attack. "W." is neither a whiewash, nor a hatchet job. You could even call it fair and balanced. Stone's biopic is actually a fair portrait of George W. Bush, one that focuses more on the man personally than his office, portraying the facts of his first term as President. It also explores issues with his father, his early drinking and religious conversion. The other surprising thing is that "W." is essentially a dark comedy. It is often very funny, frequently using "Bushisms," quotes that have been fodder for comedians for years now. Folks on the political right will be unhappy with what "W." includes, and that Bush does not come across as heroic or presidential. Folks on the other side of the political spectrum will be unhappy with what is left out, and that Bush does not come across as evil or devoid of intelligence or feeling. Those in the middle are more likely to think Stone got it right. Josh Brolin plays George W. Bush, and the film follows his life from his early college days until late in his first term. "W." starts with Bush in the White House, on the verge of the Iraq War. The film flashes back to his youth and earlier life, periodically returning to the White House and the drive towards war. In the first flashback, the hard-drinking young W., called Junior by his father George H.W. Bush (James Cromwell), is cocky, confident and very comfortable in his life of privilege, expecting to be bailed out of any troubles. He goes through the motions of school, job and military service, expecting his father to hand him a life of ease with little effort. As it slowly dawns on George that this is not what the older Bush has in mind, he becomes anguished over his inability to please his father, especially in comparison to his brother Jeb (Jason Ritter). Jeb only fleetingly appears in the film but his name is evoked repeatedly. This family dynamic becomes the driving force throughout "W." The film covers Bush's early adult life, his struggles with drinking, his repeated failed business ventures, his religious conversion and his eventual foray into the family business of politics. Scenes that focus on his meeting and relationship with his wife Laura (Elizabeth Banks) are the most touching and warm. Later, the film is driven by Bush's political career, starting with the son's disagreement with his President father over the first Iraq War, W's political success under the hand of Karl Rove, the overarching influence of the neocons in the White House cabinet and, of course, the Iraq War. This is not a documentary, but biographical film, prone to compression of events as all such films are. Many famous Bush quotes pop up here, although sometimes in places other than where they really took place. The cast is exceptional for this film. Josh Brolin plays George W. Bush with a perfect touch. Other familiar Bush figures are presented almost as impersonations, with the actors mimicking their posture, speech patterns, and outward appearance. Richard Dreyfuss is very eerily close as Vice President Dick Cheney, although he lacks the lopsided smile. Thandie Newton gets closest with her portrayal of then National Security Advisor Condi Rice, capturing speech patterns, hairstyle, walk and even voice pitch. Jeffery Wright plays the ever more dismayed Secretary of State Colin Powell, Scott Glenn plays Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld and Bruce McGill as CIA chief George Tenet. British actor Toby Jones plays Karl Rove slickly, and Ellen Burstyn plays a feisty Barbara Bush. Ioan Gruffud plays a nervous Tony Blair very convincingly. Bush is shown as flawed but human. By his own description, he is given to acting from the gut rather than reasoned reflection. He seems a clueless figure, a man out of his depth, an un-ambitious man mismatched for the political family into which he was born, where he is always second best to his brother. Fun-loving George has a knack for remembering names and getting people to like him but no love of hard work or any demonstrated insight or interest in the world beyond his own privileged life. While the rest of the Bush family is driven and politically ambitious, easy-going George dreams of being baseball commissioner. There was a joke during the pre-Sept. 11 days of the Bush term, which described W. as a "post-turtle," a turtle perched on top of a fence post out in the middle of the countryside. The joke ran, "You know he did not get there by himself, you know he does not belong there and all you want to do is help the poor **** down." At times, "W." evokes that same feeling about its central character. "W." paints a touching, almost sympathetic portrait of Bush, although it finally leans more pathetic than sympathetic. There is a touch of "Dr. Strangelove" in "W." and the strong cast helps with this effect. The facts are what they are in "W." as unpleasant as they may be. The audience laughs out loud at the familiarly mangled Bush quotes. If this was fiction, it would be farcically funny, but the fact that we just lived through this era gives the humor an underlying chill. You have to laugh or else you will cry. That is the thing that, in the end, gives "W." its power.